RP reaps benefits from partnership with CGIAR

The Philippines continues to benefit considerably from its partnership with international agricultural research centers (IARC) under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Over the past four decades, the country’s collaboration with the CGIAR centers, now formally called Future Harvest Centers (FHC), have grown and expanded from joint research undertakings to institutional development.

Washington, DC-based CGIAR is a strategic alliance of 16 FHCs, 62 members (including 22 developing and 21 industrialized countries and the newest – Malaysia, Morocco, Israel, and Syngenta Foundation), investors, and hundreds of partner-organizations that mobilize science to support poor people.

The benefits that the Philippines derives from these partnerships, as elaborated by Director Eliseo R. Ponce of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) at the just-concluded (Oct. 28-Nov. 1) CGIAR annual general meeting here, are in the area of institution building, technology development and varietal improvement, training and technology sharing, and research capability building.

This is best exemplified by the collaboration with the Los Baños-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), one of the initial members of CGIAR.

Since IRRI was established in 1960, it has released more than 400 improved rice varieties worldwide.

Of the varieties, 64, including two hybrids, have been released in the Philippines. The IRRI varieties now cover vast ricelands in the country.

Moreover, one of the two hybrids developed (PSB Rc72H or "Meztizo") is now the centerpiece of the government’s Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program (HRCP) spearheaded by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and launched to help enable the country to attain self-sufficiency in rice at the soonest possible time.

IRRI also played a key role in the establishment of PhilRice, which was set up in 1985 to develop a national rice research program to sustain and further improve the gains already made in rice production, improve the income and economic condition of small rice farmers, expand employment opportunities in the rural areas and ultimately promote the people’s general welfare through self-sufficiency in rice.

PhilRice has to date developed and strengthened the national rice R&D network, which is now composed of 56 members that include state colleges and universities, research institutions, and DA agencies.

A number of CGIAR centers have also contributed significantly to the country’s improved germplasm (plant genetic resources) collection for various crops.

The FHCs include IRRI, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maize Y Trigo (CIMMYT, or International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center based in Mexico), International Potato Center (CIP, Peru), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, India), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute-International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (IPGRI-INIBA, France), and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria).

For instance, from 1974 to 2001, CIMMYT has provided Filipino researchers with 235 trials from its Maize Program. In the past decade, CIMMYT provided Philippine researchers with almost half a ton of maize seeds – in 89 shipments.

Thousands of Filipinos have also been trained in specialized training programs of IRRI, ICRISAT, CIP, CIMMYT, IPGRI-INIBAP, IITA, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR, The Netherlands), International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF, Kenya), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, Kenya), International Water Management Institute (IWMI, Sri Lanka), and International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM, Malaysia).

An example is ICRISAT, currently headed by former Agriculture Acting Secretary William D. Dar.

Fifty-six scientists/researchers from various Philippine institutions have participated in ICRISAT’s training programs as visiting scholars, research fellows, in-service trainees, and apprentices. Many of them have attended an intensive six-month, hands-on training program on plant breeding, crop protection, agronomy, and other fields.

Filipino scientists have also benefited from joint research undertaking, technical assistance programs, and participation in international conferences and workshops.

Moreover, the Philippines has also established linkages with other CGIAR centers such as the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) in Colombia, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia, and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC, USA.

Completing the CGIAR family of centers are the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Syria and West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Cote d’Ivoire.